San Antonio Travel Guide
For details of what to do and see in San Antonio check out our San Antonio guide to car hire in San Antonio.
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San Antonio, the gateway to the Lone Star State of Texas is a city where Mexican and American influences collide, and where the history of the country can be seen in the famous Alamo, the many back street mission churches, and the character of the locals, which seems little removed from the days when the city represented the limit of the so-called civilised world.
Historically most important as the home of the Alamo, the enduring symbol of America's long journey to shake off the shackles of colonial power, San Antonio is now one of the most stunning cities in all of Texas, home to well over a million people a place with a great nightlife, many museums telling the story of the long struggle towards independence, and a number of famous American Sports teams including the San Antonio Spurs.
The one attraction that attracts visitors to San Antonio more than any other is the Alamo, a one time fort where some 200 Texan revolutionaries including Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie held out against an army of thousands of Mexicans during the Texan War of Independence. The Alamo is far smaller than you expect, although in terms of its symbolism to American culture, it is at least the size of the Statue of Liberty. The complex houses a lovely Spanish colonial church, which displays a rather ornate Islamic design as was the custom at the time of its construction.
San Antonio's main tourist area is the Paseo del Rio (River Walk), where there are plenty of restaurants and bars to relax in during the evening, and where you can find the majority of the city's nightlife throughout the year. The nearby Hermis Fair Park in the city centre is the home to several attractions including the Tower of the Americas.
San Antonio has a reputation as one of the least expensive shopping cities in the United States, and in the downtown area you can experience some of the best shopping in the whole country, as well as warm traditional Texan hospitality, and of course the spicy hot local Tex-Mex cuisine.
Amongst the many attractions in and around San Antonio, one of the most visited is the excellent Six Flags Fiesta Texas theme park, which has a huge selection of white knuckle rides to keep you thrilled, along with Sea World where you can see dolphins and killer whales performing.
